


Uncovered Evidence

by 2by4



Series: Infallible Heroes [9]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 16:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2by4/pseuds/2by4





	Uncovered Evidence

Robin and Red Robin are patrolling together when the Bat Signal lights up. Damian had moved passed silently stalking Tim’s patrols and on to actively working together with him. But the night has been slow so far. The most excitement they’d had was a drunk man harassing one of the working girls. Prostitutes usually fell under Red Hood’s protection, as they mostly worked in his territory, but this girl had ventured into an area on Tim’s regular patrol route. But before Robin or Red could even act, the drunken man had fallen to a knee in the groin and pepper spray to the eyes from the very girl he’d been harrassing.

Tim was considering calling it an early night and heading back to the Cave with Damian, to see if maybe Bruce had an active case he wouldn’t mind Tim taking over, when the familiar light of the Bat Signal had lit up the sky.

One glance at Robin next to him was all it took for Red Robin to change directions and head for the GCPD rooftop. They arrive at the same time as Batman and are greeted only by a nod from the man in the cowl. Commissioner Gordon is standing on the rooftop waiting for them and if Tim was pressed to describe his disposition the words “spitting mad” would be the first that came to mind.

“What the hell is this,” Gordon growls, thrusting an electronic tablet at Batman. Bruce takes the tablet and glances at the screen. It’s only years of working with the Bat that allows Red Robin to read the man’s shock and revulsion in the slight paling of his face beneath the cowl.

Tim snatches the tablet from Bruce’s hand before the man could say anything. The screen shows a video. Low quality and grainy. Either from cheap equipment or it was at least three years old. The scene playing out on the screen told Tim it was the latter.

A boy sprinted across a rooftop. Thirteen years old, Tim knew, but impossibly small for his age. The figure chasing him was more shadow than man, but recognizable if you already knew what it was.

The boy reached the edge of the roof and eyed the distance between there and the next roof. There was no way he could jump it. With more bravery than he felt, the boy turned and faced his pursuer. He planted his feet shoulder width apart and raised his fists. As soon as the shadow was within range, the boy struck. He might as well have been punching and kicking air for all the damage he’d dealt.

In less than a minute, the boy was pinned to the rooftop, his small form completely concealed beneath the shadow.

Tim did not need to see more.

“Would it help,” he asks Gordon as he lowered the tablet, “if I told you the boy in the video was not only an omega, but also in heat when this incident occurred?”

Gordon is grinding his teeth as he turns the force of his glare away from the Batman to look at Red Robin. “Legally,” he spits as if the word is poison on his tongue, “yes, that would help. But personally? No, not at all.”

Robin, who had grabbed the tablet out of Red’s hands to see what this was all about, pales as well. One of his gauntleted hands clenches at one of Red’s bandoliers and tugs it. “Is this...”

“Yes.” Tim answers softly, feeling a pang of remorse in his chest. He’d once taken sick pride in being able to cut the kid down by revealing he was actually Bruce’s mate and not his adopted son. But Damian had never been told the full story. He had not known just how Tim had come to be Bruce’s mate. Tim wishes he’d told the kid himself instead of letting him find out like this.

As much as Tim had once disliked the boy, Tim felt no pride at the way Damian’s face briefly settle into the expression of someone who’d just seen their hero die before their very eyes. Bruce had always been Damian’s hero.

Damian expertly masks his emotions and Tim makes a mental promise to sit down and talk with the boy later.

Moving out of Robin’s reach to take a step forward and put himself part way between the still silent Batman and Commissioner Gordon, who looked as if he was honestly considering homicide, Tim offers, “What if I told you…”

Gordon does not let him finish the statement. “Nothing you can say would make the actions committed in that video, by a man who calls himself a protector of this city, okay. How you can stand there and defend his actions when the kid in the video couldn’t have been more than eleven years old...”

“Thirteen,” Tim cuts him off. "I was thirteen."

Gordon blanches. “You?”

“Yes, me. I’m the boy in the video. I know how bad this looks, I know how bad it was, but there were conditions beyond anyone’s control.”

Livid didn’t begin to describe Gordon’s expression. “I don’t buy that alpha mating instinct bullshit. I’ve been around plenty of omegas in heat and never once felt the inclination to harm a _child_! How can you stand by his side after what he did to you?”

“Because I know the truth of the situation. Conditions beyond anyone’s control that was not alpha mating instinct bullshit, as you so aptly put it. The most worrying thing right now isn’t the events depicted in this video, but the existence of the video all together and how it came to be in your possession.”

Gordon looks ready to continue arguing, but Tim’s attention has already turned back to the tablet he’d retrieved from Damian’s loose grip. Tim tugs a USB cord from one on the compartments on his gauntlets and plugs it into the side of the tablet, copying the video to his wrist computer and tracking the origin of it.

“Red,” Batman speaks for the first time since landing on the rooftop. He reaches for Tim, but Damian is suddenly between them, blocking the hand that would have landed on Tim’s shoulder. The expression on Robin’s face is completely unreadable.

“B, you know this is just a distraction,” Red Robin says, his own hand falling on Robin’s shoulder and pulling the kid back to his side. Did Robin think he needed to protect Tim from Bruce? Because of a five year old video that he didn’t even know the whole story behind? “We’re getting too close, so he’s trying to throw the police in our path so he can get away again. He’s not getting away this time. I’ve been waiting five years to get this guy, I refuse to allow him to escape again. No one else is going to be hurt by this.”

Robin lets out a small gasp of realization. “This is the case neither of you would tell me about. The pharmaceutical companies?”

“Pharmaceutical companies,” Gordon asks, his anger waylaid by curiosity.

Bruce and Tim share a long silent look. Batman finally turns to the commissioner and explains, “Five years ago, I was investigating a series of break-ins at pharmaceutical companies and medical labs around Gotham. I was not in the best state of mind at the time.”

“Understatement,” Tim butts in. “You were on a very steep downward spiral and growing more reckless by the day.”

Bruce’s gaze flicks to Tim for only a second, before continuing as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The guy I was trying to catch caught me instead. I was taken by surprise and injected with an unknown chemical compound. The results of it was a complete inability to control my most base of instincts. Red Robin happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in what you saw in that video.”

Tim butts in again, “The wrong place, wrong time thing was of my own doing. I’d been following Batman. I’d sneaked away from school and fancied myself a bit of a detective. I didn’t know I was in heat at the time, but I was obviously lacking common sense anyway since I thought it was safe to venture to the most dangerous parts of Gotham with only basic martial arts training and an expensive camera.”

“The person behind it disappeared that night," Bruce continues, "I’d never uncovered his identity, but I searched tirelessly for months for any trace of him. There was no sign of him anywhere.”

Tim picks up, “Until a few weeks ago another string a break-ins began. Not all the same locations, but all the same drugs and chemicals. If his recipe hasn't changed, he’s one ingredient short of completing his compound. The plan was the lay a trap. It would all play out tomorrow night…” Tim trails off.

“But if he’s trying to throw you in our path now, chances are he’s acting tonight.”

Right on cue, Red Robin’s wrist computer beeps. The video had been sent to Gordon via email. The email account that sent it was one of those temporary throwaway addresses people used to sign up for sites they didn’t want to hear from again. The IP address that set up the account belonged to a Gotham Public Library computer.

It’s only thanks to Oracle that trail didn’t end there. While the library itself didn’t keep records of who used computers when, a program Oracle had planted in the library’s system did. The computer had been reserved by a Justin Thornton at the time the fake email address was set up and the video was sent.

“I’ve got a name,” Tim announces, gaze fixed on the information on the small screen. He punches in directions for a background check on the name. “We need to go.”

Robin grabs Red’s arms and yanks it down so that he can see the screen of the wrist computer. The look on his face is troubled. “You should return to your perch,” Robin says as he releases Red’s arm. “Batman and I will handle this. You need not concern yourself.”

“Not happening,” Tim says, barely refraining from sending a glare Damian’s way. The kid meant well. Their relationship had been steadily improving lately and Tim wasn’t going to let is backslide out of pettiness, but there was no way in hell he would be sitting this out.

“This is Red’s case,” Batman says calmly. “If anything, you should be the one heading back to the cave, Robin.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Damian declares, moving to stand in front of Tim with his arms crossed over his chest and a glare on his face. Stricken is the word Tim would use to describe Bruce’s expression beneath the cowl. Completely stricken. As if Damian had drawn his sword and declared Bruce the enemy.

“You know I would never…”

“We’ll discuss this later,” Tim says over Bruce. He places a hand on Damian’s shoulder and turns the boy to face him. “Batman is not a threat to me, not now. Not ever.”

“But stepmother,” Damian says, too softly for anyone but Tim to hear.

“Not now. Not ever,” Tim repeats with conviction.

Robin sighs and turns to face Batman. “We need to go,” he repeats Tim’s earlier assertion.

“Wait,” Gordon calls, but the Bats disappear over the edge of the roof before he can say another word.


End file.
